Valdez, Horwitz Lead Surge as Pirates Pound Cubs for 3rd Straight Win

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May 27, 2026 - 01:38

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Valdez, Horwitz Lead Surge as Pirates Pound Cubs for 3rd Straight Win

Spencer Horwitz, Pittsburgh Pirates — Photo provided by Eddie Provident

PITTSBURGH — Esmerlyn Valdez and Spencer Horwitz each homered for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who pounded the Chicago Cubs 12-1 at PNC Park on Tuesday night for a third straight win.

Scoring Plays

Bottom 1st, 5-0 PIT: Esmerlyn Valdez’s two-run home run to left-center capped off a five-run inning of Jordan Wicks (0-1) in his season debut. Earlier in the inning, Bryan Reynolds pated a pair with a double to left and Oneil Cruz had an RBI single to left.

Top 2nd, 5-1 PIT: After Alex Bregman opened the inning with a double to left-center, Ian Happ followed with an RBI double to center off Braxton Ashcraft (4-2).

Bottom 5th, 8-1 PIT: Nick Gonzales plated Brandon Lowe with a base hit to right field. Later in the inning, after Wicks was taken out of the game, Valdez drew a bases-loaded walk against Ryan Rolison to push across another run. The Pirates (29-26) tacked on another run on Spencer Horwitz’s sacrifice fly to deep center. All three runs in the inning were charged to Wicks.

Bottom 6th, 9-1 PIT: Konnor Griffin, who snapped an 0-for-13 skid with a leadoff single, scored from second base on a throwing error from third baseman Bregman.

Bottom 7th, 10-1 PIT: Horwitz put the Pirates in double digits with a solo home run to right field off Daniel Palencia. Horwitz’s sixth homer of the season traveled 359 feet.

Bottom 8th, 12-1 PIT: Pinch-hitter Jake Mangum bounced out to third against Hoby Milner. Jared Triolo scored from third base. Marcell Ozuna followed with an RBI single to center field.

Key Moments

Esmerlyn Valdez’s second home run in as many games blew the game open and the Pirates never seized control.

The Cubs (29-26) loaded the bases against Braxton Ashcraft with one out in the sixth but came up empty after a pair of groundouts to end the inning. Opponents are hitting .087 (4 for 46) with runners in scoring position this season.

Player of the Game

Braxton Ashcraft completed at least 6.1 innings for the fifth straight start and the sixth time in his last seven outings. He held the Cubs to one run in 6.1 innings and struck out five.

Stat to Know

Esmerlyn Valdez is the fourth Pirate since at least 1900 to have at least each of his first two MLB hits be home runs, along with Rodolfo Castro (five, 2021), Craig Wilson (two, 2001) and Dick Stuart (two, 1958), per the Elias Sports Bureau.

.@Valdezesmerlyn7's first homer at PNC Park with his family watching. 🥹

415 feet into the bullpen pic.twitter.com/ekv3NEpex2— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 26, 2026

Notable Performances

Braxton Ashcraft: 6.1 innings, seven hits, one run, one walk, five strikeouts, 95 pitches/71 strikes
Spencer Horwitz: 2 for 3, one home run, two RBI, one run
Esmerlyn Valdez: 1 for 4, one home run, three RBI, one walk
Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 4, two doubles, two RBI, two runs
Nick Gonzales: 2 for 5, one double, one RBI, two runs
Brandon Lowe: 2 for 4, two runs

Noteworthy

Esmerlyn Valdez became the seventh Pirate in the Modern Era (since 1901) to homer twice in their first four Major League games, joining Walter Mueller (1922), Wally Westlake (1947), Dino Restelli (1949), RC Stevens (1958), Dick Stuart (1958) and Austin Meadows (2018).
Valdez recorded his first outfield assist by throwing out Ian Happ at third base from right field on a flyout off the bat of Seiya Suzuki in the second inning.
Bryan Reynolds played in his 500th game at PNC Park, the third-most in the stadium’s history behind only Andrew McCutchen (876) and Jack Wilson (583).
The Cubs have now lost 10 games in a row.

Up Next

RHP Bubba Chandler (1-6, 4.60 ERA) gets the ball for Pittsburgh on Wednesday night after striking out a career-high 11 in his last start. Former Pirate RHP Jameson Taillon (2-4, 5.20 ERA) will be on the mound for Chicago. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh/93.7 The Fan.